On March 27, 2011 Germany’s Green Party received 24.2 percent of the vote in Baden-Württemberg. Alongside the 23.1 percent received by her coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), the 58 consecutive year rule of the Christian Democrats Union (CDU) has come to an end. Now the state will have its first Green Prime Minister, Winfried Kretschmann and change the course of Germany.
Simultaneously, the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, saw a shift away from Merkel’s CDU when 35.7% and 15.4% of the people voted for the SPD and Green Parties respectively. Regional issues along with national policies dictated the results as voters rejected the CDU’s conservative agenda.
The Stuttgart 21 Project
The undertaking is a key modernization venture, designed to make Stuttgart a major player in the international railway system between Paris and Vienna. However, the enterprise was thoroughly rejected by the local citizenry. Destroying the historic Hauptbahnhof building and relocating most of the structure underground, the voters felt a loss and became incensed. Local politicians successfully pinned the highly unpopular and expensive project on Merkel’s CDU and the March 27, 2011 outcome was the result.
Nuclear Power
The Green Party began its career in the 1960s as a fringe group of radical activists against corporate capitalism and nuclear power. Originally considered outside mainstream politics, Greens would adapt over the next two decades. By the mid-1980s the organization formed an alliance with the conventional Social Democrats Party and the Red Green alliance arose.
After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, the left leaning German government was able (with time) to set a target to wean itself off nuclear power by 2021. However, when Merkel’s conservative administration entered power she began to dismantle much of the anti-nuclear agenda previously launched. Against the sometimes violent opposition of fundamentalist Green activists, the CDU extended the life of Germany’s nuclear power plants by an average of 12 years.
Then, on March 11, 2011, came the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The subsequent failure of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, the potential meltdown, the radiation leaks and worldwide attention could not have occurred at a more opportune time for the stalwart anti-nuclear Greens. "The nuclear accident in Fukushima [was]…the most decisive topic in this state election," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in an AFP interview on March 28, 2011.
All Elections Are Local
The next federal election in Germany will be between August and October 2013 but in the meantime the parties will describe their ultimate positions. "This is a historic turning point in Greens’ history," said party co-leader Claudia Roth in a Reuters interview on March 28, 2011. "It's a dream come true....," added Franz Untersteller, a Greens spokesman.
The election results will make legislation harder for Merkel to pass; however more important is the state of the current ruling coalition. It is expected to survive; however, AFP reports Merkel will now need to shore up her right wing credentials. She will also need to seriously reevaluate the relationship with the pro-business FDP party. “…beyond a stinging blow to morale…the coalition…will primarily zero in on the ongoing weakness of the FDP,” the AFP article surmised.
Green candidate Winfried Kretschmann described his triumph as a “historic victory.” The Greens will have their first PM and they successfully ejected the CDU Party after 58 years of dominance in Baden-Württemberg. Their support even exceeded the backing of their usual senior partner the SPD, but now the road to 2013 is ahead. Angela Merkel will reevaluate her actions and shore up her base. She may also attempt to neutralize her opponents strength, opposition to nuclear power, with a concerted campaign of plant closures; but for now the CDU must lick its wounds.
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